This collection contains drawings and designs done by John Lee during his time as a practicing architect, materials that relate to his time teaching at the University of Kansas, and his involvement in building restoration around downtown Lawrence, Kansas, particularly his involvment in the restoration of the Union Pacific Depot. This collection also includes materials from his bicycling hobby and influence in a cycling club on KU's campus.

The Lawrence Observer was a newspaper owned and operated by a local jouralist and resident, Janet Majure. The paper ran for 6 months in 1989 reaching some 11,000 readers in the area before its demise. The paper lives on in the Lawrence Observer collection, a collection containing papers and photos documenting the brief life of the paper.